OBJECTIVE

The National Player & Coach Development Pathway is aimed at providing coaches with the necessary tools to arm themselves and their players as they evolve through the game of softball. To support an inclusive coaching practice, an approach to teaching that recognises the diversity of coaches, enabling all coaches to access coach information.

A key aim of the pathway is to meet the needs of coaches at a time in their development. Allowing coaches to develop the necessary skills through a flexible programme will help them reach these objectives.

Below is the National Player & Coaching Development Pathway document.

OUTCOMES

The pathway will ensure an improvement in the quality and performance of New Zealand’s top players, coaches and teams in the years to come to ensure:

  1. New Zealand is one of the leading softball countries in the world and
  2. We provide an excellent product to attract and retain coaches and players to softball.

The pathway allows coaches to ‘pick’ and ‘choose’ modules that appeal most to their needs. It will allow coaches to focus on a pathway that suits their direction whether it be a pitching coach, a hitting coach or a trainer. There is also potential for coaches to complete every module within the programme. Softball NZ has created several modules for the coaching pathway in recent years. It is Softball NZ’s intention to continue building and modifying modules as required to ensure New Zealand coaches are up to date with the latest coaching developments and education available. The National Player & Coach Development Pathway sits under the National Coaching Strategy 2017-2020 available on the Softball NZ website 

Branding Theme Rationale

HIGH PERFORMANCE: epitomises the highest form of the game, where players and coaches test themselves on the international stage. Senior national teams don the white and black fern. 

PERFORMANCE: exemplifies those who have the ability and are a representative at either youth or adult level. The grey fern (male) and red fern (female) signifies the colours of our national age-grade teams. 

DEVELOPMENT: represents participation and developing the necessary skills of softball. The logo is symbolised through a diamond and a key area of the game, pitching. 

FOUNDATION: is represented by a ball, relatively given it's an object that children naturally gravitate to.

OVERVIEW OF THE PATHWAY TO THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE LEVEL